Product Review: Blackbird Fly Camera
Manufactured: Japan
Cost: $119 – $130
Available from: Adorama – The Camera People ($119.99)
Upon first word of the Blackbird Fly TLR camera, camera enthusiasts may get a little excited. It is unusual to find a twin lens reflex (tlr) camera under around $300. The Blackbird fly sells for around $100.
I’ve played around with cameras since my stint as an investigator. For the most part, when you use a tlr, what you see in the viewfinder is what you get. Since tlr cameras are so expensive and the Blackbird fly is so inexpensive, it seemed the Blackbird fly tlr camera was almost too good to be true. Besides, this little nugget, the Blackbird Fly TLR, is all the rage.
If you are getting excited about it like I was, go ahead and curb your enthusiasm. This is an honest review of what I found to be true about the Blackbird Fly Camera tlr.
Blackbird Fly Camera Review: A Trendy little TLR
It’s an odd looking camera, even for a tlr. It’s supposed to look trendy. I call it kitsch.
At a glance it takes you back through history to the old brownie camera. You held a brownie about waist high, looked down into the viewfinder, held the camera very still, held your breath, and snapped a black and white photo.
The Blackbird fly Camera works along the same lines and prints on 35mm film, but there are a lot of differences between the Blackbird Fly camera and mom’s old brownie camera. For one, mom’s old brownie was a stalwart little camera available in one color, black and metal. The Blackbird Fly is available in a variety of colors, which must be easy to manufacture because it is a piece of plastic with tlr lenses and a photo mat attached.
Blackbird Fly Camera Review: Taking Photos with the Blackbird Fly TLR
The Blackbird fly incorporates two lenses (tlr technology). As is typical of a tlr, one lens is the viewfinder; the other exposes 35mm film. The viewfinder is connected to a mirror that reflects the image into a lens on top.
It felt odd to hold the camera like the ancient brownie and look through the lens finder….No, wait; first I had to look for the miniscule lens finder to compose a photograph. I still found it necessary to hold my breath and hold very still to capture a photo that wasn’t blurry.
I’ve used a digital camera for so long. I’d almost forgotten that the slightest movement blurs a 35mm shot. Sure, the Blackbird fly has a focus ring. Most tlr cameras do, but it is very difficult to adjust the focus and judge the distance, especially when you are accustomed to a digital doing all the work. On the other hand, if you know what you are doing with a 35mm tlr camera and you can hold very still, you might want to play with the Blackbird Fly tlr.
Additionally, photographs are captured at 1/250 sec shutter speed. That is about half the shutter speed of real tlr cameras. Maybe that accounts for this plastic tlr camera being sold for less than half the price of top tlr camera brands.
As for me, I’d rather take sharp, clear pictures in milliseconds on a digital camera. Even my son’s digital camera, not an SLR, outperformed the Blackbird Fly tlr.
Blackbird Fly Camera Review: Composing Photos
It is difficult to frame and take the exact picture that you want to create using the Blackbird fly. I’d far rather use a digital camera that allows me to not only compose a shot, but get a preview of it on screen.
If a shot is going to look shoddy, I generally know it ahead of time using a digital camera. Using the Blackbird Fly TLR I’ll find out once I get the film developed, which could be in five years after twenty or so rolls of film pile up in the film drawer.
I see no point in using this tlr 35mm. The one exception would be if I wanted to double expose a frame, which I can do with a 35mm SLR and am likely to do unintentionally anyway using any 35mm camera.
Blackbird Fly TLR: A 35mm Camera
The Blackbird Fly tlr allows die-hard 35mm photographers to take standard 24×36 photos, 24×24 photo using a special filter, or a 36×36 photo that captures everything in the lens and embeds it on the entire length and width of a 35mm film strip.
I fail to see the benefit of this versatility, as you can use a digital SLR camera to create a standard size photograph which can quickly and easily be adjusted in size and format using digital camera software. With each new release of an SLR picture quality, including sharpness and pigmentation improves. I could not fathom using a Blackbird fly with 35mm film.
Developing film of no higher quality than a disposable camera seems like a waste of time, energy and resources. I abhor 35mm film anyway, but especially from this camera. It is a chore, unless you are a professional who enjoys developing their own photographs.
As for me, I like to tinker with my photos using computer software, especially when I want them to appear unrealistic and “perfect.
Blackbird Fly TLR: What to Expect
Don’t expect a typical tlr camera if you purchase the Blackbird Fly TLR. If you do, you will be very disappointed.
If you have no expectation of depth perception, as with all tlr cameras, the Blackbird fly will meet your expectations
Do expect a cheap, plastic camera that will work to some degree, but, in my opinion, not much better than a disposable 35mm camera. I’m not sure it will last much longer either. In fact, the plastic may have chipped when I tossed the $120…..I mean the Blackberry Fly tlr in the junk drawer.
You do get aperture options. I want to laugh when I type this, but you get two options, f7 for overcast and f10 for sunny. At least it cuts down on your decision making and settings, unlike a digital which allows more flexibility.
I hated this camera. I like the idealism of the tlr, but mom’s ancient brownie still takes better pictures than the Blackbird Fly.
Blackbird Fly TLR Review Summary
Pros: inexpensive tlr, trendy, variety of colors, two aperture settings, focus ring, lightweight, double exposure capabilities, nice photographs if you can stand as still as a statue and hold your breath for long periods of time
Cons: cheap tlr, marginal focus capabilities, two aperture settings, plastic, double exposure accident possibilities, 35mm, photo developing, blurry images, what you see may or may not be what you get in the photo, slow shutter speed relative to other tlr cameras and SLR cameras
Unless you are buying the Blackbird fly tlr as a trendy fashion accessory either save your money for a real tlr or just go digital.
Sources:
Adorama.com
Blackbirdflycamera.com
Personal Experience
